Tuesday, February 9, 2010

(UPI) -- A British official is praising a pair of prototype shatterproof pint glasses being tested for their durability to reduce injuries from bar violence.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the glasses, created by the company Design Bridge, are aimed at curbing the estimated 87,000 broken-glass attacks in Britain each year, The Independent reported Friday.

"Having that weapon in your hand is an enormous part of why these injuries take place in the first instance," Johnson said.

Johnson said the first prototype, dubbed "Glass Plus," is a single layer of glass with a resin coating on the inside, and the second, "Thin Wall," features two layers of glass held together by resin. He said the designs were based on the windshields of cars.

"All being well, we'll find either one of these two projects, or even both of them, to be the kind of glasses you'll get in pubs and clubs not just in this country but around the world," he said.